Air cleaner equipped filler tube



Nov. 20, 1945. 1 C, ENBLQM 2,389,140

AIR CLEANER EQUIPPED FILLER' TUBE Filed Oct. 25, 1942 Patented Nov. 20, 1945 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE 2,389,140 Am CLEANER EQUIPPED FILLEE TUBE .101m c. Enmom, Minneapolis, Minn. Application 0ctober 23, 1942, Serial No. 463,036

v3 claims My present invention relates to internal combustion engines of the type wherein the crankcase is ventilated by air drawn thereinto through a combined breather and oil flller tube. In engines ventilated in this manner, the combination breather pipe and oil filler pipe or tube is usually equipped with and supports an air cleaner.

An important object of the present invention is the provision of an improved relationship of `auch breather and ller pipe and an air cleaner therefor, whereby the air cleaner may be readily removed for servicing without opening the upper end of the said tube and without otherwise exposing the tube to admission of foreign substances which would tend to contaminate the crank-case lubricant; and wherein the said filler and breather tube may be opened at its upper end for reception of crank-case lubricant without disturbing the air cleaner and without danger of lubricant being poured through said tube into the crank-case being by-passed into the air cleaner.

The above and other important objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following specification, claims, and appended drawing.

Referring to the drawing wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view, chiefly in vertical section but with some parts shown in full, illustrating my invention as incorporated in connection with a commercial form of internal combustion engine;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial section of the combined breather and filler tube and an auxiliary air cleaner;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detail in elevation showing parts of the auxiliary air cleaner found at the left of the line marked -d on Fig. 1.

Of the parts of the internal combustion engine illustrated, it is only desirable for the purposes of this case to particularly note the crankcase i9 with oil well Ii at its bottom, the cylinder block I2, the piston i8, the crank-shaft I4, connecting rod i5, intake manifold I6, ca rburetor Il, and the primary air cleaner I8. To provide crank-case ventilation the upper portion of the crank-case I0 is connected to the intake manifold i6 by a relatively small conduit f `or tube I9v in which latter, as shown and preferably, is interposed a `metering valve 20 such, for example, as that disclosed and claimed in the pending application of Wilfred W. Lowther, Se-

rial No. 294,391, illed September 11, 1939, now Patent No. 2,359,485, vissued October 3, 1944, and entitled Crank-case Ventilating system." The primary air cleaner I8 may be of any suitable type but preferably, and as shown, is of the type disclosed and claimed in United States Patent No. 2,130,142 entitled Air cleaner and granted to Wilfred W. Lowther. of date September 13, 1938.

yReferring now to the/structure that per se constitutes my present invention, the numeral 2| indicates a combined oil filler and breather tube. the lower end of which is firmly set into an opening in the top of the crank casing I0. This ller and breather tube is shown as provided with means, vin the nature of a telescopically applied cap 22 having a suitable diametrically applied handle bar 23, for opening and closing its upper end. At one side the tube 2| is prOVided With a large opening or air intake passage or part 24 formed by bending inward a deilecting flange 25. Ihe auxiliary air cleaner combined with this filler and breather tube 2| involves three major elements, to wit: a downwardly opening hood 26, an oil cup or well 21, and a filter cage or basket 28, which contains a suitable oil and dust intercepting means in the nature of a ltering material such as metal wool indicated at 29. All of the above noted elements 2i, 22, 26, 2l and 2B are preferably of thin sheet metal. The illtering cage or basket 28 has a perforated bottom that `:vill usually be approximately at the surface of oil 39 contained in the oil cup 2l.

The formation of the hood 26 in plan'view is best illustrated in Fig. 3. This hood, at its contracted side and at a point entirely offset from the exterior of the oil cup 2l, is bent to form a sleeve Si which is telescoped around the ller tube 2i and rigidly secured thereto by spot welding or otherwise in such position that the space within the hood is aligned with the air port or passage 24. 'I'he rim of the hood, including the sleeve 3 i, is formed withl an outturned flange 32.

'Ihe upper edge of the oil cup 2l is shown as formed with an inturned flange 33 which, at diametrically spaced points, is bent to form upwardly projected space lugs 34. The cage or basket 28 has an outturned rim- 35 that rests upon the lugs 34. In this Way the oil cup 2l and basket 28'are spaced so that a free air passage 36 is formed for the entrance of air as indicated by arrows marked on Fig. 2. The numeral 3l indicates a wire mesh or perforate disc placed on top of the illtering material 29.

The numeral 38 indicates a pliable gasket which "the air drawn into the hood to pass' is contained within an annular sheet metal gasket holder 39. This gasket holder 39 has an oiset sleeve-like portion 40 that underlies the offset reduced portion of the hood and closely embraces the filler tube 2|. The major portion of this sleeve 40 is turned upward and inward at 4I so that it embraces and closely engages the projecting ilange of the hood 26, see particularly Fig. 2.

As best shown at the right in Fig. 2, the annular gasket holder 39 is bent outward and upward so that it embraces the outturned iiange of the hood 26. In this way the gasket holder 39 is anchored to and becomes a rigidly connected part of the hood. The oil well or cup 21 is and should be a removable part of the auxiliary air cleaner, and hence, it is necessary to provide some means for detachably holding the oil cup with the lugs 34 tightly pressed against the outturned flange of the basket 28. As a suitable means for accomplishing this there is provided a pair of long hanger hooks 42 which, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, are

hingedly connected to the projecting ange of the hood with their hook-acting free lower ends sprung into engagement with the bottom portion 43 of said oil well. These hanger hooks are preferably of spring steel and when applied securely hold the oil well seated as shown and already described.

Operation In the ordinary use of the device the cap or closure 22 will be kept applied to the upper end of the iiller and breather tube so that when the engine is in action, all air drawn into the crank-shaft casing must be through the oil and the filtering material as already indicated, to wit: ilrst through the air intake channel 36, through more or less of the oil in the well, thence upward through the ltering material into the hood and from the hood downward through the tube 2i into the crank-case, and thence out through the conduit i9 and metering valve 20 into the manifold.

When the oil in the cup or well 21 is to be replenished, the hanger hooks 42 will be released and then theoil well, together with the basket, may be readily removed. The filtering basket is. of course, readily removable from the oil Well when the latter is removed and under these manipulations there is no tendency of spilling the oil for, of course, the parts may be quickly reassembled and when they are thus reassembled, the gasket 38 forms a fluid-tight joint between the hood and the flange of the basket and thereby causes all of through the basket and the filtering material.

The air drawn into the crank-shaft casing under the operations described will necessarily pass through the filtering materials as long as the upper end of the filler tube 2| is closed by the cap 22 or otherwise. When the oil in the crank-case is to be replenished, the cap 22 must, of course, be removed and then the oil poured into the filler tube and into the crank casing. The oil poured into the ller tube Will be deflected by the flange 25 and positively prevented from getting into the hood.

The device described in its preferred form has been tested and found to be satisfactory from all points of view. In this arrangement the tube 2| serves as a combined filler tube and air intake to the crank-shaft casing.

While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated, it will be understood that various alterations in the changes therein made may be made within the spirit of the invention herein disclosed and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In an internal combustion engine having a ventilated crank-case provided with a combined oil filler and breather tube, said tube being equipped with means for opening and closing its upper end and being provided with an air cleaner communicating with a port in its intermediate portion; that improvement comprising a downwardly opening hood extending laterally from the intermediate portion of said tube and internally communicating with the interior of said tube through said port, said air cleaner depending from said hood in laterally offset relation to said tube and internally communicating with said tube through said hood and port, and an inwardly and downwardly directed deflecting flange within said tube overlying said port.

2. In an internal combustion engine having a ventilated crank-case provided with a combined oil ller and breather tube, said tube being equipped with means for opening and closing its upper end and being provided with a liquid bath type air cleaner communicating with a port in its intermediate portion; that improvement comprising a .downwardly opening hood extending laterally from the intermediate portion of said tube and internally communicating with the interior of said tube through said port, said liquid bath type air cleaner depending from said hood in laterally oiset relation to said tube and internally communicating with said tube through said hood and port, and an inwardly .and downwardly directed defitecting flange within said tube overlying said por 3. In an internal combustion. engine having a ventilated crank-case provided with a combined oil ller and breather tube, said tube being equipped with means for opening and closing its upper end and being provided with a liquid bath type air cleaner communicating with a port in its intermediate portion; that improvement comprising a downwardly opening hood extending laterally from the intermediate portion of said tube and internally communicating with the interior of said tube through said port, said liquid bath type air cleaner depending from said hood in laterally offset relation to said tube and being downwardly displaceable therefrom, and an inwardly and downwardly directed defiecting flange within said tube overlying said port.

JOHN C. ENBLOM. 

